Hundreds become homeless due to botched housing project
More than 500 people from 85 households in 2nd and 4th khoroo of Bayanzurkh District have been homeless for the past seven year. In 2013, the Ulaanbaatar Specialized Inspection Agency concluded that Sansar Town in Bayanzurkh District does not meet operational requirements. Accordingly, in April 2014, the Ulaanbaatar Mayor’s Office issued an order to demolish eight apartment buildings, six private houses and two shops in the town to make way for redevelopment.
Sansar Town was connected to central hot and cold water, heating and electricity. Residents used to live comfortably in these three to four story apartments with two entrances each.
However, after the decree was issued, Ikh Urguu LLC won a tender to build a new housing project in its stead. In October 2014, the company signed bilateral and tripartite agreements with 85 families. According to the agreement, households who owned three-room apartments would receive 66 square meter apartments, two-room apartments owners would receive 50 square meters, while those who formerly owned one-room apartments would receive 42 square meter apartments in the new residential building.
Residents were given compensation for rental fee while they await the project’s completion. At the time, the monthly rent was estimated to be 500,000 MNT per month on average and each family received 6 million MNT. However, some families agreed to increase the size of the apartments they would get by foregoing rent compensations.
In particular, more than 20 families have transferred 2 million to 12 million MNT to the builder to increase the size of their allotted apartments. The project was to be completed by the third quarter of 2015, but by then, only the foundation of the building was completed and the company ran off. When people met with officials of Ikh Urguu LLC, they said, “Wait, you can trust us.” More than 20 households were given an additional 6 million MNT from company for rent compensation. In other words, none of the families who left their homes were able to move into the promised new apartment. In June 2015, the victims contacted former Ulaanbaatar Mayor E.Bat-Uul to terminate the builder’s license to implement the project as they failed to complete the project on time. The former Ulaanbaatar mayor met with the two sides to reach a resolution. At the time the company was once again let go with a promise that they would build the project as agreed.
In June 2016, residents of the former Sansar Town established Sansar Town Citizens’ Rights Protection Association NGO. Subsequently, they sent complaints and petitions to the Parliament’s standing committee in charge of the matter and Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh, and all levels of the city administration, but the issue was not resolved. On May 18, 2018, Ikh Urguu’s license to implement the project was revoked due to a letter of demand, collection of signatures from citizens and a hunger strike by former inhabitants of Sansar Town in front of the Ulaanbaatar Mayor’s Office. Subsequently, then Ulaanbaatar Mayor S.Batbold promised to provide housing to 64 families and handed them a pledge to provide them an apartment. However, the apartment had not been built.
Six years later, in January 2019, 70 families moved into temporary housing owned by the Ulaanbaatar Mayor’s Office, after years of living on rent and another hunger demonstration. The remaining 14 households have relocated to these “transit” apartments this year. According to Sansar Town Citizens’ Rights Protection Association NGO, 13 people over the age of 40 who lost their homes died between January 2014 and January 2019.
The families of the deceased also faced difficulty obtaining housing rights. Most of the resident’s 104 children moved to other schools. Some of them have fallen victim to crime when they were late for school, some are forced to drive to school in the early morning hours, or at night due to school overcrowding. In addition, some families moved 10 to 15 times, most of their furniture were broken. During the rental period, a fire broke out in a power line, and one family incurred heavy debt as a result. The NGO also said that many families among the former residents divorced and their children were orphaned. Among the victims, there are 49 elderly people and many people with disabilities. They have suffered greatly and continue to suffer physical and economic difficulties. The former inhabitants of Sarsar Town are suffering because the promises and actions taken by the state and those entrusted with building a new home for them failed.
The Ulaanbaatar Urban Development Department has repeatedly announced tenders for redevelopment and construction at the site, but the issues is still at a stalemate. This year, Twin House Construction LLC participated in the tender and received 72.5 percent of the votes to build Sansar Town’s B Section in 2nd and 4th khoroo of Bayanzurkh District, near Manba Datsan Monastery. Unfortunately, the company refused to implement the project, citing various complications.
First, Twin House Construction LLC believes that the project will not be profitable. The B Section encompasses 3.24 hectares of land. The company estimated that it would provide housing to 85 households, but there were additional housing requirements for 55 households. These are 55 families that are still living on the first floor in the old town without connection to central infrastructure. In particular, 2nd to 4th floors of the old apartment was demolished, but the first floor was left. Therefore, the families on the first floor are trapped in a desolate area and live without hot and cold water and heating. The company withdrew from the project due to the small size of the project land and unprofitable nature of the apartment. Second, Ikh Urguu LLC, whose license to build the project was revoced, filed a lawsuit against the Ulaanbaatar Mayor’s Office, claiming rent, excavation and foundation costs. In addition, more than 30 people have filed lawsuits against Ikh Urguu LLC in the Sukhbaatar District Court. Third, the government failed to resolve infrastructure issues. In addition, it is said that the project cannot be implemented due to documentation conflicts.
During the implementation of the project, the interests of many people were violated. For instance, 85
First floor of Sansar Town percent of residents signed the project agreement, which meant that those who didn’t consent to the terms of the project were forced into a contract. Some families were evicted from their homes without a contract.
Housing is a basic human right. However, more than 500 people involved in the redevelopment project are still homeless. Citizens who have fulfilled their responsibilities now want to exercise their rights.
Residents of Bayanzurkh District were told by some Parliament members that they would resolve the problem. For instance, B.Enkhbayar, who was elected this year, said that there is a way out. He met with representatives of victims last June and said, “The rules and regulations that follow the Law on Urban Redevelopment are flawed. According to the Constitution, if the laws, rules, and regulations are flawed, and a citizen suffers as a result, the state must fully compensate for the damage. Therefore, there is a way to compensate all of you by passing a temporary law. We will do our best to protect your rights.”
Lawmaker B.Saranchimeg said, “We will work hard to implement Resolution No. 62 (measures to be taken in connection with the discussion of the 18th report on the situation of human rights and freedoms in Mongolia) approved by Parliament on June 6, 2019. The resolution instructed the city administration to analyze the implementation of laws and regulations on urban redevelopment and infrastructure. It was also instructed to create a legal regulation to fully compensate the victims of redevelopment projects and programs, and business entities and organizations will be held responsible for the damages in case of non-fulfillment of their contractual obligations. Accordingly, we will put pressure on members of Parliament and will be your voice.”
Therefore, hopes and expectations of the victims have been restored. It remains to be seen what the elected officials will be able to do. The Mongolian National Committee of Human Rights and Amnesty International warned that hundreds of people were suffering as a result of redevelopment projects in repeated reports in domestic and foreign media. As a result, Parliament passed Resolution No. 62 to address this issue in entirety. Unfortunately, the Ulaanbaatar Mayor’s Office, which plays a key role in implementing the resolution, remains silent.